Burnham edge seven-goal thriller at Ashford Town to stay top of the table

Shyon Dennis netted another brace for Burnham. Photo: Paul Butler/Burnham FC

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Burnham kept themselves on top of the Combined Counties Premier Division North table last night after edging out title rivals Ashford Town in a hugely entertaining 4-3 win.

The Blues saw rivals eat into their slender lead at the top of the table while they didn’t play at the weekend, and Mo and Omz Bakali’s side would have been overtaken by Broadfields United had they lost at the Robert Parker Stadium.

But a fascinating contest that ebbed and flowed eventually went their way with the Blues taking control of the clash in the second half.

Nerves were slightly frayed when Ashford scored to make it 4-3 with 20 minutes to play, and the visitors must have been hanging on when defender Kevar March-McKenzie was sent off in stoppage time, but they clung on for a crucial three points.

Luqman Kassim fired the hosts in front in the 20th minute before Shyon Dennis continued his recent scoring form by finding the net in the 37th minute. The Blues then edged in front on the stroke of half-time through an own goal from Oliver Rowan and then stretched their lead to 3-1 when Dennis scored again in the 50th minute – his seventh goal in six matches.

The action continued to flipflop with Tremayne Wooliscroft cutting the deficit on the hour mark before Youssef Bouimane restored Burnham’s cushion in the 68th minute. While Ashford continued to press on their own ground, and scored again through Alexander Paine in the 70th minute, they couldn’t get back on level terms, despite more than 11 minutes of stoppage time being played.

The win moves the Blues eight points clear of third placed Ashford and keeps them three points above second placed Broadfields, who were 2-0 winners at North Leigh last night.

The Blues will go in search of a second straight away win at ninth placed Milton United on Saturday.

The surprise result of the night arguably came at Stag Meadow, where Windsor & Eton were beaten 2-1 by North Greenford United.

With the recent poor weather, and after several postponements, North Greenford requested for the game to be played at Stag Meadow, and they’ll be mightily glad they did after claiming a 2-1 win to revive their own play-off hopes.

The Royalists came into the clash off the 2-0 home win over Abingdon United at home on Saturday and looking to make inroads into Burnham’s precarious lead at the top of the table.

The fifth placed side would still move above the Blues should they win most of their six matches in hand, but they couldn’t take advantage of this one, and Burnham knocked them back with their own impressive win at Ashford Town.

Morgan Cooper was the key man for North Greenford, firing them in front in the 20th minute before grabbing his second early in the second half.

Nick Thumwood rolled home a penalty in the 54th minute to give Windsor hope, but despite a host of changes being made by Rob Webb, they couldn’t unlock North Greenford’s defences again.

Some will feel that justice was done as they weren’t happy with Windsor effectively being handed an additional home game. However, others have said the venue switch is the right decision, given the potential for fixtures to pile up for teams like North Greenford and Windsor & Eton in the final weeks following recent postponements.

The Royalists remain fifth in the table, now 11 points behind leaders Burnham with six games in hand.

They’re now set to face Kidlington twice in the space of a few days, first in the Premier Challenge Cup away from home on Wednesday, March 4, before returning the favour and hosting them in the league on Saturday, March 7.

Holyport stretched their unbeaten run in the league to three matches as they claimed another crucial point at home to Milton United on Tuesday.

Having beaten Abingdon United and Edgware & Kingsbury in back-to-back home games to move out of the relegation zone, Port welcomed ninth placed Milton to Summerleaze Park last night and earned themselves another vital point.

Both goals came in the first half with Harry Laflin’s opener in the 22nd minute cancelled out just a few minutes later by Twariq Yusuf’s finish for the visitors.

Port have just seven league matches left to play before the season ends on April 18. They’re now five points above second bottom North Leigh, but the two teams just below them in the table, Amersham Town and North Leigh have six and five matches in hand over them respectively.

Port simply need to keep picking up points and hope both those sides continue to drop points. North Leigh are in particularly bad form having lost nine of their last 10 matches.

Holyport host North Greenford United in the last of this five-game stretch of home matches on Saturday. Their visitors will be buoyant after defeating Windsor & Eton on Tuesday night.